The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-11-02
Lost on Lake Michigan, and Ill on Board the
Vessel PERISH IN the Storm.
4 Pilot House Picked up Settles the Identity
Of the Lost Steamer.
No Assistance Could be Rendered Bscsu:e Of
the Heavy Sss on the Lake.
Story of the Commander or the Superior
Nreckage, Rats and a YawI Passed
The steamer Overloaded.

passenger propeller Vernon, was wrecked
in the terrible gale that swept Lake Mich
igsn yesterday, and her entire crew of
twenty-five persons, and the passengers,
number unknown, are supposed to have
been lost. 1t involves a greater loss Of
life than any of the previous disasters on
the lake this season, not excepting the
propeller Champlain, which burned early
in the spring off the Charlevoix, drowning
twenty-four persons. A most singular CO.
incidence is that the Vernon was the yes.
sci which took the place of the Champlain
in the Northern Michigan Line, and had
only been on the line since August !. She
was one of the finest furnished passenger
boats on the lakes, and had q valuation
of SIS, GOO. Captain Moran, of the
steamship Superior, which arrived here at
$50 o'clock last night, brought the first
news of the wreck. ''To pass one man
on raft appealing for help, another dy-
ing from exposure, and small boat in
which we could see one woman aud three
men, one of the latter hailing with coat
stuck upon his oar, all being tossed about
in terrible sea without our being able
to render them any assistance-was heart
rending in the extreme" said Captain
Moran. I'VE were also fighting for our
lives, our steamer having become disabled
in the sea. With the exception of the
cooks our entire crew of sixteen men,
even to the engineer, were down below,
some OF them steering the vessel with
tam IL uvNf haI -
up, while the others were trying to re-
pair the break. Our tIller had become
disconnected from the rudder post, leav-.
ing US at the mercy OF the sea, until we
managed to rig up temporary tackle.
With this We managed to keep our vessel
out OF the trough of the seas and keep
her before the gale Ii was three hours
before we had made repairs so that We
could handle ourselves, and then We were
out OF sight of the shipwreckei m co."
''The cooks on deck we're the first to call
our attention to the wreckage. II was
10 O'Clock in the morning, when of Two
Rivers, some miles out in Lake Michigan
that We passed through some lumber.
Five miles further on We passed lot of
barrels, and then encountered wreckage
for some distance. Among ii was furni-
ture and bed clothing, besides life preserv-
ers here and there. One cook said he
counted thirteen life preservers. and
know that 1t must have been a passen-
ger boat to carry so many. We passed so
near some of the life preservers that they
might have been picked up had the cooks
used pike pole. was only on deck part
of the time, and no others of the crew came
mp, as they had all they could do where
they were"
When about six miles East
Northeast, of Manitowoc, the cook,
who had been keeping a lookout, called me
on deck with the information that q raft
could be seen with q man on 1t. As |
went on deck could plainly see the man
waving his hand to us. He was standing
upright on the raft, which was about hal
a mile, between Us and the shore, and the
sea was washing over it. It appeared
about twelve feet square, and as if 1t
might be the top of cabin. Poor fellow,
he must have thought it cruel of us ID
pass by and leave him there to suffer. Ten
minutes later we sighted another raft also,
about a half mile inside OF US. It was
much smaller, apparently not more than
four by eight feet and looked like q piece
of bulwarks. On it was lying a man
who, although still alive, probably did
not discern us, as he was too far gone. We
could see him dip his head as his irall lit
tie f0at was tossed about in the sea, as
though ne was about dead.
We saw yawl with three men and one
woman in it little further south. There
may, however, have been more of them
lying down in the boat, the three we saw
being on the seats. One of the men was
standing up, holding his oar,
with his coat swinging, to attract
attention. Their hearts must have been
gladdeEed in their expectation of help
from Us. How inhuman they must have
thought us when we passed them by, and
within mile, too, without even turning
our vessel toward them. But with our
steering gear disabled as it was we could
not stop our vessel, and there was nothing
for Us to do but hope that some one of the
vessels coming up the lake astern of us
might discover them aud pick them up.
There is a possibility that a large
schooner coming uD the lake after Us may
have picked up the persons in the boat.
She was three or four miles as.ern OF us,
and L could see through the glass that
she was heading towards them. But she
may have been bound for ManitoToc and
could have passed without seeing them
There was little possibility that she could
have taken the men off the RATS aud 1t is
even doubtful If she could pick up the
yawl In such sea. II she could get close
enough TO throw them a line as she
scuddsd by and they held on to it, there
might be chance for them to be saved
1t was as heavy a saa "a | have experienced
in ell my life on the lakes.
"Just to give you an idea of il, the San
dusky which we had in tow, so metimes
buried herself so that only ons-hslf OF her
masts could be seen. Oace she stayed under
80 long that thought she was gone. We
will make repairs here and go on TO Chi
cago."